DENVER — It was on July 23 last year in Charleston, S.C., that Joe Biden really showed what he is made of.

It was at a Democratic debate — one of approximately 700 or 800, as I recall — that was sponsored by CNN, Google and YouTube.

Via a video clip, a man identifying himself as Jered Townsend from Clio, Mich., said: “To all the candidates, tell me your position on gun control, as myself and other Americans really want to know if our babies are safe.”

Then Townsend picked up what appeared to be a semiautomatic assault rifle.

It was an invitation for the Democrats to fall all over themselves telling gun owners how much they really loved guns.

The Democrats have been quaking in their boots over the gun issue ever since Al Gore lost the presidency in 2000. Had Gore won Tennessee, Arkansas or West Virginia — all winnable states — he would not have had to win Florida and he would have become president.

But he lost all those states, and guns had a lot to do with it. Bill Clinton had succeeded in making gun control a mainstream, pro-police issue, by convincing voters, including hunters, that banning assault rifles and cop-killer bullets would in no way harm sport shooting. [Mark Godsey]